The Doctor's Cold
by mystery year
Summary: The doctor does it again, only this time, with a handkerchief and a fever. rated T for mild language.
1. Chapter 1 Not Sick

"What should I do?" The Doctor thought as he paced back and forth in the TARDIS. Amy, River and Rory were all told that he forgot his sonic and had to go back in the middle of exploring a beautiful planet with mountains and orange grass.

He sniffled, trying to ignore the tickle that had been in his nose for an hour now. "I can't be sick! How could I be sick?" he couldn't think of any way he could have caught a head cold, he hadn't been to earth recently, and even if he had his immune system is stronger than a human's.

"HET-CHOO" his hand quickly came to his mouth when he sneezed. He reached for his handkerchief that was on the seat next to the console. He wiped his nose then sniffled.

He sat down and decided to rest his eyes. "They'll be too caught up in exploring, shouldn't be back for another hour." He thought to himself.

After what he thought were just couple minutes his eyes shot open when he heard the TARDIS door open. "Doctor?" there was Concern in Amy's voice. No matter how much he was happy that Amy was here, he couldn't let anyone know that he wasn't feeling well. He feared that if they knew he was sick, they wouldn't feel safe enough to trust him. Which at the time, made sense to The Doctor.

When the doctor saw Amy walk in, adrenaline shot through his body and he immediately stood up, hiding his handkerchief in his jacket pocket. "Abey!" he tried to sound cheery, but feared he was failing once he heard how his voice had changed since Amy last saw him.

As Amy walked further in, Rory and River followed behind. The Doctor's Eyes became wide when he saw them.

"Why didn't you tell us you were sick?" Rory said as soon as he saw The Doctor.

The Doctor then realized that Rory was a nurse and that he could tell a sick person within a second.

But the doctor didn't give up, "I'm not." He said. He tried to sniffle as quietly as possible.

"You do look kind of hot." Amy said. River nodded in agreement.

"Of course I do!" The Doctor smiled.

Amy ignored his attempt to steer her away from the fact that he was sick "No, I mean are you running a fever?" Her soft hand touched his forehead. "Of course he's sick." River said.

The Doctor found himself being forced to sit back down by Amy, who was surprisingly stronger than she looked. River was behind with Rory with an amused smile on her face as she watched Amy yell at him. But she never enjoyed seeing her Time Lord sick, she just hid it better than Amy.

"You need to go to bed!" Amy was just making The Doctor's headache worse. "You're sick!" she continued.

The Doctor was able to resist Amy's attempts and stood up, sniffling rapidly, then found his face buried in his handkerchief "HET-SHOO"

"I don't care if I am sick," His congested voice was hard to ignore. "I still have things to do!"

Rory, Amy and River all waited for him to explain why he should be up walking around when he's sick, and the doctor noticed they were waiting.

"For example," he started, sniffling "What's that beeping?" He pointed to the screen on his console and moved it toward him.

Amy wasn't having this. The Doctor was sick, and she hated seeing him sick. She wanted him better! "Doctor, I really think you shouldn't be…" but he was already buried into the information the screen displayed.

His eyes got bigger and bigger as he read further, in what appeared to be, some sort of alien language.

Before the doctor was able to finish reading, he had another annoyance from his nose. "HET-CHOO! H-H-HETCHOO!" He groaned as he wiped his nose with his already soiled handkerchief.

After a few minutes with sneezes scattered in between, he finally said "Okay!"

"What's it say?" Rory asked as The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket.

"It says," the doctor coughed, "It- it says 'Look at your psychic paper.'"

"What? We waited ten minutes for you to read _that_?" Amy yelled. "And isn't the tardis supposed to translate for you?"

The other three could tell she was masking her concern for the doctor in her usual way.

The Doctor sighed. "Well it's not . . ." He pulled out his psychic paper.

"Not what?' river asked.

"It's just that it's not excactly . . ."

"What?" Rivers hand was on The Doctors back, which he definitely wasn't going to argue against.

"It's not exactly a real language."


	2. Chapter 2 Earth Two

The Doctor opens the door, coming out of the phone box with the rest following.

"It's earth." Amy looked around "It's just earth."

"Not earth." Said River.

"That's right, River!" the Doctor tried to say enthusiastic "Not earth! Almost the same!"

He picked up a weed from the crack in the sidewalk and gave it to Amy. "What's this?" Amy asked.

"Fair Grass, it only grows where there's people."

"and?"

"There's people here."

"Yeah," Amy pointed to the busy street in front of them. "There is."

"Right."

"Earth Two." River said.

"Yes! Earth Two! Twenty-second century, forty thousand of the richest people in the world find a planet almost exactly like earth, pay the press to keep it a secret and move out to form a new world!" He sniffled "Here, some of the best . . ."

"Doctor?" Amy stepped closer to him "You Okay?"

"Hit-SCHOO!"

River sighed. She yanked the handkerchief from his pocket and held it in front of him. "Here, Sweetie." River said.

"Yes, thank you." He blew his nose in the fabric.

"So, you were saying?" Rory said.

"Yes, Right, some of the best experts in mental illness are here."

"What?"

The Doctor smiled "Literally, a world of therapists. A child from this planet wouldn't even have to go to college to be a successful psychologist on earth. They have dedicated their studies to the human brain." All of a sudden the doctor felt tired. He walked over and leaned on the TARDIS. "You should really lie down." Rory said.

"No," the doctor sighed, holding a hand to his head "There's no time."

"Doctor, I really don't think you should be out like this."

The Doctor stood up. "Who the hell are you to be ordering me around?" he snapped.

Rory backed away, with his hands up like he was surrendering. "Fine."

"Good. We go this way." The doctor pointed in the direction to a long road leading to a little bunch of buildings.


	3. Chapter 3 The School

"Why's it so quiet in here?" Rory leaned on the interior walls of the building.

"I'm sorry, I thought that was obvious." The Doctor tried to sound smart, but it's hard to give off a "smart vibe" when you break out into a coughing fit every ten minutes.

"What?" Rory asked.

"Hit-SSCHOO" the Doctor pulled out his handkerchief for, what felt like the thousandth time that day, even though they'd only been on that planet for twenty minutes.

"It's a high school." The Doctor said "I kind of thought you would have known that."

Amy peeked into one of the classrooms "We didn't do schoolwork on an ipad 10 when we were in high school."

"Fair enough." The Doctor wiped his nose.

"You have to stop doing that!" Amy yelled.

"What?"

"Using that disgusting hanky."

"Well what do you suggest, Pond?"

"How about tissues?"

He looked away and murmured "I don't have any."

"What?"

"I . . . I don't have any."

"How could you not have any?"

"With my immune system I didn't think I'd need any!"

Amy sighed "We'll just buy you some then! You can't keep using that hanky, it's probably soiled by now!"

"Fine, later"

All of a sudden the bell rang. To Amy, they didn't seem much different than the twenty-first century bells in high school.

The sound of footsteps, and laughs filled the school.

"Can I help you?" an old woman walked behind the front desk from an office.

Everyone looked at the Doctor, waiting for him to explain, because he was the only one who knew what they were doing, at least . . . they hoped.

But instead he was blowing his nose. He looks up and sees everyone looking at him. "Oh, yes, we're uh, we're here to see . . ." he snuck a peek at the message on his psychic paper "We'd like to see Lucy Smith."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "Are you a police officer?"

"Um, no I'm the Doctor."

"I knew she would get herself pregnant."

Amy was behind the doctor, thinking to herself "What has he gotten us into this time?"

The Doctor decided to try to get through to the woman one more time. "I need to talk to her about . . ." he leaned in closer "her cat."

"Her cat?"

"Yes," he straightened his back "Yes, her cat has died, her parents asked us to let her know."

"I see. I'll get someone to pull her from class."

After the woman was out of sight, Amy and River started laughing. "Her cat?"

"Who's Lucy Smith anyway?" Rory asked.

"We'll find out, won't we."


	4. Chapter 4 Lucy

The Doctor turned around to blow his nose, but he then heard his name being called.

"Doctor!" A girl with an American accent about fifteen ran up to him, black skirt, grey top, and dark straightened hair with blonde highlights "I really wasn't sure if you'd come!"

He wasn't sure how to react, so he smiled awkwardly.

"Oh, god, sorry," she said "I'm Lucy, you've never met me and I've never met you."

"That actually is pretty comforting." The Doctor said.

"Yeah, I know, I've heard tons about you! You're like a legend at this school!"

"A – a legend?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Well, you're kind of a legend everywhere after you got rid of those sycorax!"

Amy cut in "The what?"

He sighed "I'll tell you later. " Then held up his psychic paper in front of Lucy "About the message, how –"

"Well, my parents are lost, at least I think they are, and I want you to find them."

"No I mean –"

"I haven't heard from them for days and I'm really worried. What if it's my fault? What if they're dead? What if –" The doctor grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"How did you send me that message?"

"Oh, of course! I'm taking a class on telepathy, it's really cool! I've learned a lot, and it helped me figure out how to contact you."

"And why did you write it in this language?" He was starting to get tired of her never-stop-talking thing.

"Muerte Koulu Mizah is the language adults haven't figured out yet, except for you of course, because you're awesome! Basically just a bunch of symbols."

He sighed again "Yes but why did you write this message in that language?"

"Because we aren't allowed to have contact outside Earth Two, and it's illegal to bring a stranger here, that's why I chose to send it that way, not many people can hack your brain, but if they do, they won't be able to tell why I'm contacting you."

"Let's go." He grabbed her arm and began to drag her out the door, with the rest following.

"Wait, no I don't want to go with you!"

"You don't have anyone watching you, and you're clearly trouble."

"Aw, c'mon!"

"Don't argue with . . . HIT-SCHOO!"

"What the hell?" Lucy jerked her arm trying to get away, because nobody enjoys being sneezed on, but the Doctor's grip only got stronger.

Lucy relaxed a bit after she looked at him closer, with a smile forming on her face and said "Shouldn't you be in bed?'

"That's exactly what I said!" Rory yelled.

"You're clearly sick."

The Doctor sniffed "Shut up, both of you."

"Your eyes are glassy, your nose is red, and your mouth is slightly open as if you can't breathe through your nose." She looked at Rory and they both smiled.

His hand tensed up again. "I said shut up."

After they got in the TARDIS, the Doctor sat down while Amy entertained the brat.

He closed his eyes and, made sure his mouth was open so he could breathe properly, and then began to fall asleep, when he felt a hand on his leg and heard a "Sweetie"

"You know, bed is also a good place to sleep." She smiled as she looked at her sick Time Lord.

"Yeah." He kept his eyes closed hoping maybe he could still fall back to sleep.

"Do you know how long you've been asleep?"

"Few minutes."

"Try hours."

That was when he opened his eyes. "What?"

"You looked terrible, we let you sleep."

"I'm just a little ill."

"You're warm, sweetie." River rubbed his leg.

"I guess."

"I'll be right back." Her hand left his leg as she got up.

The Doctor closed his eyes again, the footsteps of River Song faded away.

He did feel terrible. His nose was plugged, his eyes were watering, and he actually would want nothing more than to go to bed, but he had things to do.

"HITS-CHOO!"

Amy walked over, handing him a brand new box of tissues and smiled. "Picked them up for you."

"Where's Lucy?"

"Playing with my phone."

When River came back, she sat next to the Doctor, who was starting to fall asleep again. He felt a hand on his forehead. "Go to bed, sweetie."

That's when he finally stood up "No, I have things to do, people to see, and planets to save!" he tried so hard to seem energetic, but he was failing.

He flipped switches and pressed some buttons, jumping around the TARDIS.

"Oh come on! Don't do that!"

"Who are you talking to?" Rory asked.

"He's yelling at the TARDIS." River said.


	5. Chapter 5 Sleep

**Thanks to everyone who has read this story, subscribed to it, and reviewed it! There are more chapters to come! – glue09**

The Doctor sat down, staring at the TARDIS console. "I hate you." The rest were all looking at him, puzzled.

"What happened just now?" Rory said.

"heh-HITSHOO!"

Amy sighed and handed him a tissue.

"Thanks, Amy. Anyway, the TARDIS won't let me leave."

River bit her lip, trying really hard not to laugh.

"It is NOT funny!"

"Right," River smiled then looked at Amy and Rory "It is a bit." They all broke out in laughter, including Lucy, who hadn't smiled the whole time she'd been in the TARDIS. The frustrated Doctor stared as his amused friends laughed.

When River noticed his face, she immediately stopped laughing, and sat next to him again. "Go to bed, sweetie."

"I told you, I don't have time."

"It's one AM here anyway, the rest of us are going to bed."

"Lucy can sleep in my bed, I'm not done with working on the TARDIS so I probably won't sleep tonight anyway."

"No, that's okay, she can sleep in Amy's bed."

Amy looked over "No, no she can't . . ." then smiled at Rory.

River sighed "Well she's not taking the Doctor's bed, and I can't find my room . . . also I need to take care of him." She looked at the Doctor.

"I've told you before, I don't need to sleep as much as you do."

"Well you do right now."

"No, I don't." He felt a sharp pain on his arm, being hit by River was never pleasant.

"Okay fine, she can sleep in my bed with me."

"Are you sure?"

He rubbed his temple "Yeah, I'm sure."

Lucy pretended not to listen to their conversation, but she wasn't exactly excited to share a room with the guy who, as soon as he met her, sneezed on her.

But when she heard "hih-hih-HIT-SCHOO!" one more time, that was it.

"No freaking way!"

"Lucy, please."

Lucy thought about for a while. He clearly wasn't willing to argue at all, so she would easily somehow get out of it, but he also clearly wasn't feeling well. He could have just wanted someone in the room with him. Maybe she could just sleep on the floor, so she mentioned it to River.

"You really want to sleep on the floor?"

"Sure," she looked over at the miserable Time Lord, sniffling with a tissue in his hand "I don't get sick easily anyway."

"Okay, I'll go get some blankets!" Amy said.

The Doctor was relieved that he was actually going to be able to sleep, but if River found that out, he would never hear the end of it, then again, she probably already knew how tired he was.

He ended up heading to bed while everyone else was still up talking. As he was walking, Amy handed him a box of tissues "You're going to need these for the next few days."

The next few days? Is that how long he's going to feel this horrible? How did humans stand this? It felt like torture.

He nodded and continued to walk to his bedroom and immediately flopped on his bed.

Back with everyone else, Amy was worried. River could tell because she wasn't her normal self, making fun of Rory (and kissing him) and cracking jokes about how annoying Lucy was.

"It's Two. We should all be going to bed" Said River.

"Yeah." Amy nodded.

Back with the Doctor, He hadn't fallen asleep yet. His nose was stuffed up so he could barely breathe, and every five minutes he had to sneeze, several times while he was almost asleep.

Lucy walked in as he was blowing his nose "Hey."

He sniffed "Oh, hello."

Lucy unfolded a blanket and put it on the floor "You look like crap." She threw a pillow onto the blanket.

"Thanks." The doctor said quietly and sarcastically

"And you sound terrible." She said as she got under a blanket.

"Well by dose is completely plugged up!"

"No, I didn't mean it that way, I mean, yeah you do sound really congested, but I meant you sound . . . lonely."

"I'm dot."

"You're one of those people that hate being alone when they're sick." She smiled.

"Ab dot!" he said childishly.

"Hey, it's normal."

"I rarely get sick."

"How long has it been since you've been sick?"

"Oh I don't doh, a few . . ." he swallowed "decades."

"No way!"

"Yep."

"Wow, quite an immune system."

"I think you hubads weakened me."

"Thanks a lot."

"Anytibe. Hih-hiHIT-SCHOO!"

"Bless you." Lucy pushed the box of tissues on the nightstand closer to him.

"Thanks." He grabs a tissue and wipes his nose.

The door opens, revealing River Song. "Hey, I found my room, so Lucy, if you'd like you can sleep in my bed and I'll sleep on the couch in my bedroom."

Lucy looked at the miserable Doctor, then thought about his loneliness.

"I can stay in here, I already have my bed made anyway."

"Okay, well goodnight."

About twenty minutes later, the Doctor finally started to fall asleep, with the comfort of someone with him in the room. "I'll find your parents." He thought, as he looked at Lucy, who was already sleeping.


	6. Chapter 6 Runaway Time Machine

That morning, Lucy woke up with an expected pain in her back from sleeping on the floor. She looked over at the Doctor, who was still sleeping.

"Hey." When she walked out, she saw that everyone was wide awake.

"Oh, hey!" Amy walked over to her. "I thought you could wear some of my clothes."

"Great I'll go get changed."

"Bathroom's over there, I think."

As Lucy walks away, River says "Bit weird, isn't she?" Rory and Amy nod

"I caught her staring at me last night." Rory said.

"Staring at you?" Amy giggled.

"Right into my eyes."

"Creepy.

Amy looked around "Isn't the Doctor usually up by now?"

"Amy, he's sick." Said Rory.

"Yeah, I know, but it's just weird not having him here with his radiating energy and that stupid bow tie."

"That'll be back soon."

The Doctor woke up with his head pounding, his eyes watering and his nose running. "Ugh." He could hear everyone outside his door laughing and talking. He looked at his watch . . . 11:15 AM.

He jumped out of bed, getting dressed as fast as he could, and opened the door. Everyone's eyes widened, except for Rory, who immediately turned around.

"Doctor," Amy giggled "Where are your trousers?"

He looked down and saw only his boxers "Oh dear."

Lucy broke out into laughter, Amy and River knew better, and Rory was still turned around.

"I'll be right back." The doctor said.

"'Kay."

As they watched the Doctor walk away, Lucy's laugh got louder, and Amy's stare made Lucy think "If looks could kill…"

"Leave. Him. Alone."

"Amy, he's fine."

"He's sick."

"Just because he's sick doesn't mean he can't dress himself properly! There's something on his mind."

"What makes you say that?"

"I just know, okay? I don't know what he's thinking about, but he's off his game."

"I don't believe you."

"Think about it for a minute: all he has is a stupid head cold, do you really think that would make him so feverish and miserable that he's not even able to put his clothes on right?"

"You need to shut up."

"You first."

"Why would I need to?"

"Because you're being a pain in the –"

"Amy" Rory cut in.

"What?" Amy's current touchy attitude made Rory tremble.

"Look at the screen."

She turned around "Doctor!" she yelled.

"Yes, yes, Amy I'm here, and completely dressed!"

"Look at the screen."

"Oh," he immediately became concerned as he looked at the screen that was flashing "That's . . . not good."

"What?" Lucy Yelled "What's happening?"

"We're in a run-away time machine."

Everyone held on tight as the TARDIS went crazy. The room was filled with the whirr of the ship while everyone tumbled around.

"Where's it going?" Lucy asked.

"She." The Doctor corrected.

"What?"

"Never mind, I think _she _is going to earth." He yelled over the noise.

"How do you know?" Amy said.

"Just trust me."

The TARDIS stopped. Everyone looked around. "hih-HIT-SCHOO!" the Doctor was relieved when he was finally able to sit down, not even interested in what was outside those doors. This concerned Amy. She was used to him pulling her and Rory out, explaining things at a hundred miles an hour. She was used to him laughing, and bragging about his bow-tie. But instead he just sat there, rubbing his head with a box of tissues next to him.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." He smiled. A fake smile of course, but at least he was trying to seem okay.

"What's out there?"

"Oh, um, let me think . . . Earth, Twenty-Second century I believe."

"Well are we going to go out there?"

"J-just give me a m-min . . . HAT-SHOO!"

"Are you sure you're fine?"

"Amy, I said I was fine, okay?" he snapped "For God sake pond, it's just a cold."

Rory and River exchanged worried looks, while Lucy just smirked. She knew something was up, she could just tell. It was in his eyes. His eyes, and basically his whole facial expression.

"Your parents," he looked at Lucy "are Matthew and Valerie Smith, correct?"

"Yeah, that's exactly right!"

"Great." He looked even more concerned as he stared at the TARDIS door.


	7. Chapter 7 Graves

"So are we going out there?" Lucy asked.

"Have you ever been to earth?" The Doctor looked at her..

"No, we're kind of cut off from earth."

"Well, it's different than your planet."

"How?"

"Well . . . they're extremely . . . "

"Yeah?"

"Stressed."

She laughed "There's stressed people on Earth Two."

"Not like this."

"Whatever."

"Okay, well I'll be right back . . . I've just got to get . . . my screwdriver." He walks into a hallway.

"His screwdriver was in his pocket." Rory said.

"He's going to blow his nose." River smiled "He's so embarrassed." River's head turned to Lucy "He's right, though."

"About what?"

"You won't be used to earth, be careful."

"Stress isn't that big of a deal."

"What have you studied about earth?"

"Just history."

"Okay then. Listen to the Doctor."

The man in the bow-tie returns with a red nose and his screwdriver in his hand "Found it!" He said.

He opened the door. He was the first to walk out, then Amy and Rory, then River, who was trying to keep an eye on Lucy.

Lucy walked out onto the busy sidewalk, looking at everyone that passed by. She looked at the way they walked and handled everything. They looked angry. They looked hopeless. They looked sad. "Oh my god!"

River put her hand on Lucy's shoulder "I know, it's okay,."

"What happened here?"

"Earth isn't as advanced as your planet is, they don't know how to deal with things."

Amy, Rory and the Doctor looked back, trying to figure out what was going on. Amy couldn't understand what was wrong. Surely Lucy has seen this before. It wasn't like Earth Two was perfect. They had to have people that couldn't deal with their feelings.

Everyone was looking at Lucy as they passed by. She finally settled down, "This place is really . . . weird."

River looked back at the Doctor, who, to her surprise, was already heading to the entrance of shop with a sign above it that read "Mary's Collectibles"

They followed the doctor. When they entered he was already at the front counter. "You must be Mary." He said to the dull looking woman at the checkout.

"Mary's my mother."

"Tell her she has a great shop!"

"She died ten years ago."

"Right. Well, I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"What year is this?"

Rory looked at the Doctor. "Doctor, you said that it was –" But the doctor held his hand in front of Rory's face so he would stop talking.

"2305"

The Doctor looked back at his friends. "So why'd she bring us here?"

"Excuse me?" Said the woman.

"Oh, sorry. Thank you."

Then walked out the door.

"Why'd you say it's the twenty-second century?" Amy asked.

"Because I thought that's where the TARDIS was taking us!" he said as he walked away.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Back to the TARDIS. Come along."

When they went back into the TARDIS, it immediately started moving. But just for a few seconds. The Doctor walked over and opened the door "It's still earth."

"We're in the same year just a different place?" River asked that question, but the Doctor could tell in her voice that she already knew the answer.

"That's right." His head was still out of the door. When he walked out, everyone looked at each other. "HIT-SCHOO!"

"Doctor?" Amy said "What's out there?"

"Um . . ." The Doctor coughed.

River poked her head out the door "Oh my."

"River, what's out there?" Amy asked.

"You should come out and look."

When Amy, Rory and Lucy walked out, they were immediately greeted by the sight of graves. Amy looked up and saw the Doctor looking at two specific headstones. "Matthew and Valerie Smith." He said.

"No!" Lucy yelled.

"It's fine, it's two hundred years since they were born."

But the Doctor didn't get it. He didn't get how horrible it was for her to see her own parents' graves.

"But why are we here?" she tried her hardest not to cry.

"I'm not sure, but the TARDIS wanted us to see this."

"This is sick." She yelled. Lucy ran back to the TARDIS as quickly as she could, closing the door behind her with a _SLAM._


	8. Chapter 8 Terified

"Lucy, I'm sorry you had to see that." Amy's hand was on Lucy's back, but she was scowling at the Doctor. She blamed the Doctor for Making Lucy so upset. She couldn't stand seeing Lucy like this. Though she hadn't know her for that long, she felt bad for Lucy and couldn't believe that the Doctor did something like show her the graves of her dead parents, and while she was blaming the Doctor, he was blaming the TARDIS for bringing him there.

He couldn't stand to see Lucy cry either, but she didn't want him anywhere near her for a while, and that was something he could understand. He'd seen too many graves to be bothered by them anymore, but he knew how the thought of graves made humans jumpy.

Rory just stood there in awkward silence. He imagined what it would be like for him to see the tombstones of his parents. It made his skin tingle at the thought of seeing their graves while they were still alive in another world.

River was less terrified than the others, but more than the Doctor of course. She'd seen many deaths herself.

"I asked you to find my parents!" Lucy said to the Doctor.

"Yes, I know, I'll find them." He sniffed.

Amy stood up, walking over to the Doctor and then leading him even further away. "Be a bit more sensitive!"

"Amy, I know why that TARDIS took us to that cemetery. "

"Why?"

"Me."

"You?"

"Yes, me. The TARDIS wanted to show me that if I don't save Lucy's parents . . . it won't be the loss that ruins her life, it'll be me."

"Wait, why?"

"Because now Lucy blames me! Even if it's not my fault, it'll seem like that to her now."

"So . . . this is the TARDIS' way of forcing you to work harder?"

"No, not exactly."

"Then what is it?"

"The TARDIS has quite an attachment to Lucy, this was just a way of . . . motivating me to do the right thing."

"That's what I just said."

"No it's not."

"You just like being right." She playfully punched his arm.

"Of course I do." He smiled "Okay, Lucy."

She looked up at him "What?"

"I'm going to find your parents."

"You are?"

"Yes, of course, I told you I would!" he flipped switches and slammed his hand on buttons as the TARDIS engines started to whirr. "We're going back to Earth Two and we're going to investigate!"


	9. Chapter 9 River

There they sat at a wooden table in a restaurant in the middle of the capitol of Earth Two. The Doctor was attempting to eat spaghetti, Amy and Rory shared a pork chop, and Lucy just ordered a side of fries and some strawberries, but River didn't order anything.

"You sure you're not hungry, River?" asked the Doctor, who had a mouthful of garlic bread.

"Yeah, I'm sure, sweetie." She smiled.

Lucy could tell the Doctor was concerned. She could see it in his eyes. She was considered one of the best in her class at school. Although she couldn't read minds yet, she could tell what people were feeling and when they were lying. The fact that she was so good at school always scared other kids, so they would tease her about it, calling her a nerd, an Earth Two version of a nerd, of course.

"Lucy." The Doctor noticed Lucy was trying to figure him out, so he needed to say something to snap her out of it.

Lucy smiled. she could tell the Doctor was trying to snap her out of it. It was like two magicians trying to impress each other.

"Lucy," Rory said "Are you ready to go?"

"Sure."

When the waitress came to give them the bill, the Doctor looked up at her, staring into her eyes. "Sir, are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, sorry you just seem . . . familiar."

She somehow looked shocked "Um, okay well here's your bill, go up to the counter and pay it when you're ready."

"Thank you."

She nodded and walked away.

"What was that?" Amy asked, but the Doctor was already on his way to the counter with the bill. And wasn't he lucky that that same waitress was there.

"Do you know her? Do you know Lucy?"

The woman shrugged "She comes here with her friends sometimes, and what are you doing with her?"

"We're . . . planning her cat's funeral."

"Mittens died?"

"Wha – oh never mind. You four, let's go!" he yells as he points to the door. "HIT-SCHOO!"

River handed him a tissue and again, smiled at him.

"We're going back to the TARDIS."

"Why?" River asked. That confused the Doctor. He wasn't used to River asking the questions, she usually knew what he was going to do because whoever she was to him, she knew him.

"We just need to talk about some things with Lucy."

"You think my parents are alive?"

"Yes."

"Where are they?"

"I don't know."

"How do you find out?"

"I don't know that either."

"Oh my god! Come on! I want my parents back!"

"I'll find them you just need to be patient, Okay?"

"Okay." She said as she calmed down.

The Doctor nodded, satisfied that he's finally gotten through to her.

"HIT-SCHOO!"

"Hey Doctor" Amy said "Rory and I were wondering, how'd you get sick if we haven't been to Earth before that happened?"

All of a sudden the four of them heard a "HIT-SCHOO!" from behind them. To their surprise, they saw River.

"River?" The Doctor said with a smirk "Are you okay?"

"Yes, of course, sweetie." A fake smile appeared on her face.

"Have you caught my cold?"

"No."

"But you're sick."

"I guess, but it's not a cold."

"So how's it different?" he walked close to her "It's worse?"

She shrugged "I – I don't know. . . HIT-SCHOO!"

When the Doctor put his hand on her forehead, he immediately took his hand away. "River! You're burning up!"

"Yes, I know."

"How could you keep this from me?"

She smiled, a sincere one this time "Easily."

"Go to bed."

"Oh my god, are you seriously telling me to –"

"Now, River Song."


	10. Chapter 10 Rory

"Doctor" Amy said

He was starting to get tired of Amy asking questions over and over again while his head was pounding. He sighed "Yes, Amy?"

"What's wrong with River?"

"I don't know." He stared at the screen, one hand holding it steady, and one hand rubbing his head. "It says her body temperature has risen quite a bit since yesterday."

"That sounds bad."

"Well it's definitely not good!" he snaps.

"Sorry."

"It – it's fine, I'm just not feeling well."

"I know, is there anything I can do?"

He sniffed "Some tea would be nice."

"Okay, I'll be back."

"Amy, wait."

"Yeah?"

"Where's Rory?"

"He went to bed early, you know, long day. And Lucy?"

"Sleeping. I told her there was nothing else for her to do."

"Where's she sleeping?"

"My bed."

"Please don't tell me you're not going to bed tonight."

"I have to find Lucy's parents."

"Can't you do that tomorrow after you've slept?"

"I don't need sleep!"

"You do right now! Go to bed!"

"No, you."

"Excuse me?"

"Aren't you going to bed?"

"Of course, but you need to sleep too."

He found himself with two feet of space in his bed. But he didn't blame Lucy, he told her he wasn't going to sleep.

He found himself sleeping on the floor, with a box of tissues next to his pillow.

Lucy's eyes shot open when she heard "HIT-SSSCHOO!" from a few feet away. "You okay?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I could be better."

"How's River?"

"I haven't seen her since she went to bed."

"You mean since you sent her to her room?"

"She was sick, she needed to go to bed."

"And you _just _decided to go to bed? You're sick too."

"I'm going to sleep now so shut up."

"Do you want to sleep here? We could switch places."

"No it's fine, I'm too tired to . . ." he trailed off.

"What?"

"Shh. I hear footsteps." He whispered. He slowly stood up, a tissue still in his hand. As he walked toward the door, the footsteps got quicker. He opened the door, only to see Rory, grabbing a box of tissues out of the closet.

"Not you too." He said quietly, but not quiet enough to keep Rory from hearing him.

Rory sighed "Yes, me."

"But how?"

"I don't know, but I don't want Amy to get sick, so I'm sleeping on the floor." His voice was hoarse and congested, sounding a lot worse than the Doctor did.

"Well you better get some rest, either way."

"Yeah, well goodnight."

"Goodnight."

By the time the Doctor turned around Lucy was already asleep.


	11. Chapter 11 Need a Doctor

She didn't want anything more than to see her Time Lord's cheery smile and that stupid bow-tie he insisted on wearing because "Bow-ties are cool" he always said.

But she couldn't see that man. She was stuck in bed, too weak to move, a sore throat that kept her from desiring to eat or drink anytime soon and uncontrollable shivering. River Song felt Terrible.

Rory, on the other hand _could _move . . . barely. His nose was too stuffed up to breathe through it, so he depended on his mouth for air.

Amy woke up to the sound of dry coughs from a few feet away. "Rory?" she said, concern in her voice.

"Yeah, sorry I woke you." He said in a hoarse voice.

She shook her head dismissing it "What's wrong? Why are you sleeping on the floor?"

"I didn't want you to get ill."

"Well you need to get into bed." She said as she slipped a shirt on over her camisole. She stood up, grabbing Rory's arm to help him get into bed.

That's when he found out exactly how well his legs worked. When he finally got into bed, Amy put the blankets over her shivering husband and went to find the Doctor.

He did it. He finally did it. He defeated the Daleks. And all it took was a keyboard and a hairbrush.

The Doctor's dream was rudely interrupted by Lucy, who was shaking him awake. "Amy needs you."

"I didn't tell you to wake him!"

"Well it's too late now."

The Doctor sat up. He moaned and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, Amy, what is it?"

"Rory's ill."

"I know."

"How could you know?"

"I saw him last night getting tissues out of the closet."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Well it's not like I was going to wake you up in the middle of the night!"

"Okay, good point."

The Doctor stood up and walked over to Amy. He looked like he was about to say something, but then a thought came to his mind "River!" he yelled. He ran out of the room, pushing Amy aside.

River smiled when she saw the Doctor come into her room. He didn't look so good himself, but not as terrible as she probably did. She tried to sit up, but she was too tired, so she just stayed where she was as the Doctor approached her.

"You don't look so good." She said.

"Me? What about you? You look –" he saw River's face "Like you need . . . "

"A Doctor." River said, attempting to be humorous.

"Yes, and here I am!" his smile improved her mood quite a bit.

"Here you are."

"River Song, you're sweating."

"I'm freezing."

"I'll be right back, I need to get my sonic."

"Take your time."

"We're in a time machine."

River smiled "I know."

"So what's going on?" Amy asked when the Doctor walked out of River's room.

"What do you mean? They're sick, probably the flu or something."

"But don't you find that weird? You all getting ill at the same time, I mean."

The Doctor hid his concern. He had no idea where or how they could have gotten sick all at the same time, especially since he had a different illness then River and Rory did. "I have no time to 'find that weird', I need to find Lucy's parents."

"What about Rory?"

"Well what about Rory?"

"Should I stay in the TARDIS and take care of him today?"

"Rory's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"I had to help him into bed this morning!"

The Doctor looked up "You did?"

"Yes!"

"And if River's as sick as he is –"

"We should all stay in the TARDIS today."

"But we can't." by that time the Doctor was just thinking out loud "We can't find Lucy's parents and take care of River and Rory at the same time."

"No, really?"

"What if . . ." he thought for a moment "what if someone, somewhere is . . ."

"Yeah?"

"No, can't be, nothing can get through the TARDIS' walls."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"We can't do what they want."

"What who wants?"

"I don't know. But they want us to stay and we're not going to."

"What?"

"Oh come on Pond, catch up! Someone's made us ill."

"Okay then."

The Doctor returned with his sonic screwdriver. He shined the light in rivers eyes and ears, squinting at the screwdriver each time. "But that . . ."

"What?" River asked in a quiet, hoarse voice.

"That doesn't make . . . HIH-HIH-HIT-SSSSHOO!"

River grabbed the tissue box on her nightstand and handed it to the doctor "Here, sweetie, take one."

"Yes thank you. As I was saying," he held his sonic screwdriver up and pointed at it "_this _is not possible."

"And what's that?"

"It says you're in perfect health, and we both know that's not true, so either someone's trying to ruin my sonic, or someone's trying to ruin you."


	12. Chapter 12 Farra Mind Inc

The Doctor was pacing on the glass floor of the time machine, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Amy wasn't sick. Lucy wasn't sick. How were they different? Why wasn't he as sick as River?

Rory was asking himself some of those questions. Why was he ill? He was barely around River and even if he was around her, how could it spread that quickly? He decided those were questions he could deal with after he'd gotten some rest, so he slowly started to fall asleep. Then Amy walked in. "Do you need anything?"

Rory wasn't sure what possessed him to do what he did next, but he yelled "No, just leave me alone!"

Amy stormed out of the room, and Rory began to mentally write his will.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lucy watched as Doctor mumbled to himself, every once in a while saying something like "No! No, that can't work." Or "How could that be?"

The Doctor had entertained Lucy quite a bit these last couple of days she'd been on the TARDIS, although he'd been a little edgy with a cold, he was exactly what she imagined him to be. An amazing, mad man with a box and a screwdriver with unlimited functions.

"You know," she said "You could just go outside and ask around."

"Is that what you did, Lucy?"

"Yeah."

"Then it won't work."

"Hey! I'm not stupid!"

"Where was your father employed?"

"I'm smart! Maybe not as smart as you but –"

"Lucy, where did your parents work?"

"Farra Mind Inc."

"Your parents worked at . . .the telepathic company?"

"Yeah, they mostly work to try to telepathically connect everyone in a office building together, hoping to get rid of email someday."

"Oh."

"What's that mean? I've only known you for three days so is 'oh' good or bad for you?"

"Your parents are working for Dennis Farra. That's definitely not good."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Pond." The Doctor turned to Amy "You seem . . . uptight."

"I'm just tired of all this."

"I could always take you home."

"You know I'd never ask you to do that. I love it here."

"Why are you upset?"

"I'm just . . . "

"Just what?" the Doctor sat next to her and smiled "Amy, come on, you can tell me."

"I'm worried about Rory."

"He's fine."

"I know, I just want to be with him."

"Well you know how Rory is when he's sick, he wants to be left alone."

"Must be some nurse thing."

"Well," the Doctor stood up and walked towards the TARDIS door "Let's go."

"What about River?" Lucy asked.

"Well . . ." the Doctor looked at her with a begging expression.

"Hell no!"

He groaned "Lucy, please! It won't be any more than an hour."

"You're lying!" she said as she stared at the Doctor's eyes.

"Okay fine, I don't know how long it'll take but I need you to stay here with River."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Just keep her company."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"are you sure?"

"No, but I need you to stay here . . ." he and Amy exchanged looks "Bye!" then they ran out the door.

"Oh come on!" Lucy yelled. She walked into River's room. The lighting was dull and the atmosphere was as depressing as visiting someone on their death bed. "Why is it so dark in here?"

"She turned the lights down for me."

"Who?"

"The TARDIS."

"Why does everyone keep calling it a she?"

"The TARDIS has a soul, you know."

"Wow, that's messed up."

"Show a little respect."

"Yeah, whatever. So I was told to stay here and keep you company."

"By the Doctor, I'm guessing."

"You guessed right."

River sniffed "He's a good man."

"Kinda annoying sometimes."

"Well that's how he deals with pain."

"I wouldn't call having a head cold pain."

"He over nine hundred years old, a person has a lot of regrets to deal with after nine hundred years."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Okay Amy, we're going into that building."

"Farra Mind Inc." Amy read aloud.

"That's right. Let's go in."

They walked in, Amy exchanged heated words with the security guard, then they walked out . . . or more like pushed out by a large man that called himself a security guard.

"What was that?

"I suppose they didn't want us in there."

"Why not? We didn't do anything!"

"Hold on, Amy, I have to make a call." He pulled a phone from his jacket pocket and started pressing buttons.

"Wait, you have a cell phone?"

"Even aliens have mobiles!" he pulled the phone up to his ear.

"Okay then."

The Doctor shushed Amy and said "Lucy! Hello! I just want to remind you to make dinner for the three of you."

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not."

"Where do I make it?"

"The kitchen, of course!"

"This thing has a kitchen?"

"I – I think so."

"Great." She said sarcastically as she hung up the phone "you _think _so."

Lucy turned around "Um," she started to talk to the TARDIS, which, for her, was like an atheist praying to God. "The Doctor wants me to cook, so it'd help if you would direct me to the kitchen." She looked around, waiting for some sign that this time machine could actually hear her. Then the lights in a hallway started flickering. "So down here?" what was she doing asking it questions? It wasn't like the machine was going to say 'yeah, right over there.', but Lucy walked down the hallway until the lights stopped blinking and she came to a white door. The door was kind of heavy, but she managed to get it open. And behold! It was a chefs heaven.


	13. Chapter 13 Staying behind

**You all have been amazing! I'm really enjoying writing this story and at the same time knowing someone's waiting for the next chapter! Thank you for all of the reviews they mean a lot to me! –glue09**

"What am I supposed to do in this giant kitchen? He said soup right? All he said was soup so what am I doing in a room with fruit I can't even begin to name?" by this time she wasn't sure if she was talking to the time machine or herself, but neither was good for her sanity.

She searched the cabinets until she found a can of soup. Finally something she didn't have to make from scratch. She poured it in a pan then added water and sat at the island while she waited for it to heat up.

It had been forty five minutes since the Doctor and Amy left, leaving Lucy in the TARDIS with River and Rory.

If they couldn't tell her what they were doing to try to find her own parents, how serious was this? If her parents weren't found she'll go into the system and get stuck with a creepy family . . . at least they seemed creepy on TV.

"If Lucy's parents aren't found, she'll blame me. Instead of the hero in her history book, I'll be the man that ruined her life." The Doctor didn't say this, he thought it. If Amy knew how concerned he could get, she would never feel safe with him again.

He looked over at her. She was worrying about Rory. He could just tell by her expression that she couldn't stop thinking about her husband.

The Doctor was more worried about River. He couldn't tell if Lucy cared, but if she did, she was great at hiding it. She didn't seem like the type to worry about things like these.

River thought about her Time Lord. When he tried so hard to hide something he seemed to do things slower, like finding a child's lost parents. If Lucy's parents weren't found, the Doctor would blame himself. It would be just another added to a long, long, long list of regrets.

"Hey." Lucy walked in with a mug "The Doctor asked me to make dinner, so here you go."

"No, I'm not eating anything."

"He'll kill me if I let you go two days without eating, and you too if you're not already dead."

"Thanks for that."

"Yeah, no problem. Eat the soup. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"I told you, I'm not eating."

"If you don't eat it, I'll pour it down your shirt."

"You're lying."

"You wish. See ya."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Amy, I –"

"Shh!"

Amy and the Doctor hid behind a bush in front of the Farra Mind Inc. building. Amy felt like a spy in a movie she would have watched as a kid.

"But Amy, we need to go before –"

"Shut up, there's a guy coming."

"HET-CHOO!"

The man walking out of the building stopped .and walked toward the bush.

Amy's eyes widened, she turned around and looked at the Doctor. "Seriously?" she said as they stood up and ran.

"I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, well we're never going to get into that building!"

"Well it's starting to get dark, let's go back to the – HET-SCHOO!"

"Doctor, are you okay?"

"No, Amy, I'm not okay. If I don't find Lucy's parents I'll never live it down, and I have to find them while I'm feeling completely miserable!"

"Oh," she let a few seconds of awkward silence pass as her and the Doctor walked back to the TARDIS "Sorry."


	14. Chapter 14 Soup

When the Doctor and Amy walked into the TARDIS,

"How's Rory?" The Doctor asked.

"I was about five seconds away from smothering him with a pillow."

"I see."

Amy laughed "Illness brings out a different side of Rory."

"He kept telling me to leave him alone! All I was doing was bringing some damn soup!"

"You threw it at my face!" yelled Rory, who was leaning against the door frame.

"Well you were being a jerk!"

"Rory!" Amy ran over to him, giving him a hug.

"And River, how's River?" the concern in the Doctor's voice was getting easier to hear.

"She's just miserable in general."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I don't know, she's sick!"

"Look, you can go to sleep I've got everything from here."

"Oh, thank god!" She said. She walked back and the Doctor turned around to Amy and Rory.

"You're standing." He said to Rory.

"Yeah, I know!"

"Are you getting better?"

"It sure feels like it."

"Well, yeah, that's – that's good."

"You seem happy." Rory said sarcastically.

"I've just never seen a human get well from the flu so quickly."

"What, so you think there's something wrong with me because I'm getting better?"

"Well . . . "

"What, really?"

"Never mind. You two need to go to sleep."

"Oh, okay, goodnight." Amy said.

The Doctor returned to the console room, his nose as stuffed up as it had been the past few days. He felt a bit smart, sending everyone to bed so nobody would be able to tell him to go to bed himself because he wasn't playing around this time, he had work to do.

He sat down and thought. That was all that he could do, think. He had to figure out where Lucy's parents were. As annoying as she was, she was a great kid and she deserved to have great parents to raise her.

The Doctor went through the last few days in his mind, what he saw and what he did. But nothing. He couldn't concentrate until the pounding in his head left him, and he had no idea how long this cold would last.

"Doctor." When he heard his name, he stood up and turned to River Song.

"What are you doing here? Go to bed! You need –" his sentence was interrupted by River's sneeze.

"Well, I've gotten a little better."

"Still, why are you in here? You should be in bed."

"I thought I should tell you something."

He looked at the watch he set for Earth Two time "It's two Am, why now?"

"So you can get some sleep!"

"What about you?"

"Doctor, I'm serious. The cemetery where Lucy's parents were buried., there was a man there."

"And?"

"He was looking at Lucy like he knew her."

"And you're just now telling me this?"

"I know and I'm sorry!"

"I needed to know this, River!"

"But I'm telling you now. I think that man could have been –"

"Lucy's father."

* * *

Lucy was sleeping on a blanked she put on the floor. She knew that even though the Doctor wasn't planning on sleeping, he was going to anyway.

But she couldn't sleep. She couldn't stand that uneasiness in the Doctor's eyes. It was always there. She wondered if it had to do with what River told her before about his regrets.

She tossed and turned but she wasn't tired. Or maybe she was. She couldn't tell. There were too many things on her mind, well, only the Doctor and her parents, but that _was _too many.

Amy was lying there awake, looking at her miserable husband. He insisted on sleeping on the floor, and she knew it couldn't have been comfortable for him, but there was no arguing with him.

She couldn't sleep. Rory was sick and she hated it when he was sick. He didn't like being around people when he was sick ever since she met Rory, she always thought it was funny. He'd always refuse to come to school because of the slightest head cold, and she would always tease him about it. She finally began to fall asleep, still worrying about her husband.


	15. Chapter 15 Glass Case

The Doctor woke up, his neck aching and . . . River's head on his shoulder. They were still in the console room!

"River, wake up."

"What time is it?"

"Five thirty."

"No going back to sleep now, I suppose."

"Yeah," he looked at River, whose head was still on his shoulder, and smiled.

When she noticed she immediately sat up "Oh," she rubbed her eyes "I better go get changed." She stood up and was walking slowly to her room. She lost her balance and grabbed the TARDIS console.

"River!" the Doctor ran over to her, holding her arm so she could stand up.

"I -I don't understand, I was fine last night."

"You should get back into bed."

"But it doesn't make sense."

"Just go to bed." The Doctor helped River to her room, and then returned to the console room. He turned around when he heard his name, and saw Lucy.

"What are you doing up this early?" the Doctor asked.

"What about you?"

"I fell asleep out here, not very comfortable."

"So you ended up sleeping anyway." Lucy said with a smirk.

"Shut up, River's gotten worse."

Amy walked out "Worse? What about Rory?"

"Amy, I don't know."

"If something happens to Rory –"

"Amy, I don't know!"

"So he could be dying!" and you just stand there like –"

"Amy! You're not the only one who'd be losing someone!"

All Amy could do was stare. Finally the doctor's concern was visible. "What about you? You're ill too."

"I don't know, but I feel a lot better than River probably does."

"You need to do something about this."

They turned when they heard River scream. The Doctor ran and opened the door, and River wasn't there.

"Rory's gone!" Amy cried

"So is River." A big bright light filled the room "And so are we."

"What?"

"We're not in the TARDIS anymore."

* * *

River looked around. She saw people that looked fairly normal. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with them. She was on a cement floor. The musty room had brick walls and dull lights. She looked around some more and realized that she was in a large glass case . . . along with the Doctor, Amy, Rory, and Lucy.

"Doctor!" River yelled when she saw the time lord. "What's going on?"

"We've been teleported into the Ferra Mind Inc. building."

"Why?"

"I know why." Said an unknown voice. Everyone looked around until their eyes came to a speaker in the ceiling.

"Ah!" the Doctor said "You must be Dennis Farra!"

"Correct."

"So what are we doing here?"

"I need her mind."

A man and a woman walked in.

"Doctor," River said "That's the man! That's the man I saw at the cemetery!"

"And that's our waitress."

* * *

After two hours, everyone found themselves just sitting on the floor. The people outside the glass case just stood there, watching and making sure the prisoners kept out of trouble.

The Doctor couldn't think of a way out. He didn't know how to save him and his friends.

Lucy felt herself slipping away. Not as if she was dying, but as if her brain was being taken over. She fought it, but when she realized she couldn't do anything herself, she screamed.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" the Doctor said as he walked over to her. When Lucy didn't respond, the Doctor cried "What are you doing to her!"

"I need her mind." Said the voice.

"For what? Why do you need her mind?"

"She will be my telepathic transmitter for the network. Her mind could connect the whole planet."

"No! Don't you dare! "

"It's too late, Doctor."

"No. No, no, no! you can't do this! She's just fifteen!"

"Exactly. I need a young, strong mind."

"Well, I may not be young, but I'm strong."

A projection appeared on the wall. It was an old, wrinkled man. "Are you volunteering, Doctor?"

"Yes."

Amy shot up "No!"

"Amy, it's fine."

"No you can't –" but he was already starting to slip away, each second he left a little, and Lucy's consciousness came back.

"Doctor, I don't want to lose you." Amy kneeled at his side and looked down at him with tears in her eyes.


	16. Chapter 16 Saying Goodbye

**Well, here it is, chapter 16! one more to go then this story will be finished! *tears of happiness from accomplishment* **

* * *

Only one of the Doctor's eyes was open, and he looked up at Amy "don't worry." Then he started shaking.

The man on the projection started laughing. All everyone could do was watch. Just watch the Doctor slip away.

The tears in Amy's eyes began to blur her sight.

Lucy couldn't help but feel guilty. She will be the reason the Doctor can't save the universe anymore. She should never have asked him for help.

Before they knew it, the woman shot the case, and then the glass that surrounded them shattered. Everyone covered their heads, a few screaming. When Lucy looked up, she saw her mother, laying a gun down on the table.

The man on the projection started panicking, confusing everyone in the room. That's when they noticed the man that River saw at the cemetery was gone. He shot Dennis Farra.

The Doctor stopped shaking, and then River and Rory stood up.

* * *

They were halfway to the TARDIS. "So," the Doctor said "he forced you to spy on your own daughter, changing your faces using perception filters?"

"Exactly." Lucy's dad said.

"Fascinating, a bit weird . . . and cruel, but fascinating."

Lucy tried to wrap her head around it "So you've been watching me the whole time?"

"Yep."

"That's really creepy."

"Lucy!" her mom yelled.

"Well, it is!"

The Doctor opened the TARDIS door "Come in, I'm going to take you three home."

"But our house is just a few blocks away."

"How much more fun would it be to go home in a spaceship-slash-time machine? Come on!"

* * *

"Hey, Valerie" the Doctor said as he pulled a lever on the TARDIS console.

"Yeah?"

"Does your family really have a cat named mittens?"

"Mittens is Lucy's."

He turned to Lucy "Mittens, seriously?"

"A bow-tie? Seriously?"

"Fine. But bow-ties are cool."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"No more of that."

"What? Sleeping at night?"

"Yes. I will no longer be sleeping." He pressed some buttons on the console.

Amy laughed "You wish! Your cold still hasn't gotten any better!"

"Oh, shut up."

"You said that after you found Lucy's parents you would –"

"Sh!"

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Here we are!" the Doctor opened the TARDIS door.

They all walked out, into the living room of the Smith family's apartment. That was it, Lucy thought, the last time she will see her hero. She met the man in her history book, and now he has to leave. The man that saved her life.

"Wait, Doctor, let us do something for you." Valerie said.

"No, we're fi – HET-CHOO!"

Amy, River, Rory and the Doctor all walked back into the TARDIS and it immediately started fading away.

* * *

"So," Amy leaned on the console "If that Farra guy was controlling your illnesses using his brain or whatever, why are you still sick."

"Um . . ." the Doctor looked away "Because . . . it's a real cold."

Amy smiled "So you're actually sick."

"Maybe."

"What do you mean 'maybe'? You're sick!"

"Okay, fine! I'm sick! Is that what you want to hear?"

She laughed "You said you would take care of your cold after you found Lucy's parents."

He found himself almost being dragged to bed by Amy. He couldn't help but feel relieved that he was finally going to be able to get some proper sleep.

His head hit the pillow and that's when he realized how tired and awful he actually felt.


	17. Chapter 17 He Found Out

The Doctor shot up and let out a "HET-SCHOO!" His hand came to his mouth while he reached for a tissue with the other hand. Before he knew it he sneezed three more times.

He lied back down, his nose extremely stuffed up.

Two days now. It had been two days since he found Lucy's parents and took them home . . . and he hadn't gotten any better. Amy, he thought, she lied. She said he would get better but he still felt awful.

He reached for the tea on the night stand next to his bed, took a sip, then lied back down.

"HET-SCHOO!" Tissues filled the trash can next to his bed. He went back to Amy. She lied. He decided to finally get over it because he loved having Amelia Pond around.

He got up, opened the door and walked out to the console room where Amy and Rory were.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I'm hungry."

"Then I'll get you something to eat! Jeez, get back into bed!"

"I've been in bed for two days, I'll just sit down . . . right here, next to Rory."

"Great." Rory said.

Amy laughed "I'll be back in a minute."

"So Rory," the Doctor said with his congested voice "How are you doing?"

"Good."

"Good. That's good."

"And you?"

"I've been better . . . obviousl – HET-SCHOO!"

"Um there's something you should probably know."

"What's that?"

"Never mind . . . you'll find out."

Amy came back with some soup in a mug.

"Thank you!" he tried as hard as he could to sound cheery.

"So" Amy looked at her husband "You've told him right?"

"He'll find out!"

* * *

The next day, River sat there next to the Doctor, with a box of tissues in between them. She blew her nose then said "I hate you."

The Doctor smirked "No you don't."

_Fin_


End file.
